Similar Set Research Articles

The image of “socialist cities” in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia in guidebooks in the second half of XX – early XXI centuries

The article analyzes the image of the “socialist cities” of Kharkiv (“New Kharkiv”) and Zaporizhzhia (“Sixth Village”) on the pages of city guidebooks in the second half of XX – early XXI centuries. It is concluded that the images of “socialist cities” in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia have a similar set of markers. Both are built next to the iconic industrial enterprises (KhTP, DniproHES), in accordance with the new principles of urban planning. Life in these cities contributed to the establishment of socialist life of workers. Technical parameters of “New Kharkiv” and “Sixth Village” are also similar: residential areas with developed social infrastructure (schools, hospitals, clubs, etc.), a lot of greenery.During the 1950s – 1980s, the image of the “socialist city” in the cultural landscape of Kharkiv was dynamic and positive. “New Kharkiv” was an independent tourist attraction, the final destination of one of the main tourist routes in the city. Its space was self-sufficient. The activities of KhTP ensured the stability of the meaning of life and the language of description of the “socialist city”. The economic crisis led to the collapse of the social structure of the plant, the meaning of existence of the “social city” blurred, from the space of stay (according to K. Lynch) it transformed into the space of transit. In the 1990s, the functional and ideological significance of “New Kharkiv” was lost. The authors of guidebooks focused their attention primarily on the central areas of the city. This led to its symbolic oblivion and “sealing”. Self-centeredness did not allow the “socialist city” to be inscribed in the symbolic landscape of Kharkiv in the first two decades of independence.On the pages of guidebooks, the “socialist city” of Zaporizhzhia was an exemplary, but transit space. A typical city sightseeing route started from DniproHES and continued along the central avenue to the railway station. Metaphors to describe the “socialist city” (“city of workers’”, “garden city”, etc.) became the basis for the practice of self-representation of Zaporizhzhia. It should be noted that the proper name of the “socialist city” – “Sixth Village” appeared on the pages of guidebooks only during the years of independence of Ukraine. The image of exemplary space, formed on the pages of guidebooks, was used by local authorities as a symbol of successful development of the city. “Socialist city” became a space of residence, and the conversation about it in public discourse began to take place in the discourse of preservation of historical and cultural heritage.

Machine Learning to Identify Genetic Salt-Losing Tubulopathies in Hypokalemic Patients

Clinically distinguishing patients with the inherited salt-losing tubulopathies (SLTs), Gitelman or Bartter syndrome (GS or BS) from other causes of hypokalemia (LK) patients is difficult, and genotyping is costly. We decided to identify clinical characteristics that differentiate SLTs from LK. A total of 66 hypokalemic patients with possible SLTs were recruited to a prospective observational cohort study at the University College London Renal Tubular Clinic, London. All patients were genotyped for pathogenic variants in genes which cause SLTs; 39 patients had pathogenic variants in genes causing SLTs. We obtained similar data sets from cohorts in Taipei and Kobe, as follows: the combined data set comprised 419 patients; 291 had genetically confirmed SLT. London and Taipei data sets were combined to train machine learning (ML) algorithms, which were then tested on the Kobe data set. Single biochemical variables (e.g., plasma renin) were significantly, but inconsistently, different between SLTs and LK in all cohorts. A decision table algorithm using serum bicarbonate and urinary sodium excretion (FENa) achieved a classification accuracy of 74%. This was superior to all the single biochemical variables identified previously. ML algorithms can differentiate true SLT in the context of a specialist clinic with some accuracy. However, based on routine biochemistry, the accuracy is insufficient to make genotyping redundant.

Identification of a novel recurrent EEF2 gene amplification in familial prostate tumors.

Recurrent tumor copy number variations (CNVs) in prostate cancer (PrCa) have predominantly been discovered in sporadic tumor cohorts. Here, we examined familial prostate tumors for novel CNVs as prior studies suggest these harbor distinct CNVs. Array comparative genomic hybridization of 12 tumors from an Australian PrCa family, PcTas9, highlighted multiple recurrent CNVs, including amplification of EEF2 (19p13.3) in 100% of tumors. The EEF2 CNV was examined in a further 26 familial and seven sporadic tumors from the Australian cohort and in 494 tumors unselected for family history from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). EEF2 overexpression was observed in seven PcTas9 tumors, in addition to seven other predominantly familial tumors (ntotal = 34%). EEF2 amplification was only observed in 1.4% of TCGA tumors, however 7.5% harbored an EEF2 deletion. Analysis of genes co-expressed with EEF2 revealed significant upregulation of two genes, ZNF74 and ADSL, and downregulation of PLSCR1 in both EEF2 amplified familial tumors and EEF2 deleted TCGA tumors. Furthermore, in TCGA tumors, EEF2 amplification and deletion were significantly associated with a higher Gleason score. In summary, we identified a novel PrCa CNV that was predominantly amplified in familial tumors and deleted in unselected tumors. Our results provide further evidence that familial tumors harbor distinct CNVs, potentially due to an inherited predisposition, but also suggest that regardless of how EEF2 is dysregulated, a similar set of genes involved in key cancer pathways are impacted. Given the current lack of gene-based biomarkers and clinical targets in PrCa, further investigation of EEF2 is warranted.

Cluster-Based Structural Redundancy Identification for Neural Network Compression

The increasingly large structure of neural networks makes it difficult to deploy on edge devices with limited computing resources. Network pruning has become one of the most successful model compression methods in recent years. Existing works typically compress models based on importance, removing unimportant filters. This paper reconsiders model pruning from the perspective of structural redundancy, claiming that identifying functionally similar filters plays a more important role, and proposes a model pruning framework for clustering-based redundancy identification. First, we perform cluster analysis on the filters of each layer to generate similar sets with different functions. We then propose a criterion for identifying redundant filters within similar sets. Finally, we propose a pruning scheme that automatically determines the pruning rate of each layer. Extensive experiments on various benchmark network architectures and datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed framework.

In vitro transcriptomic analyses reveal pathway perturbations, estrogenic activities, and potencies of data-poor BPA alternative chemicals.

Since initial regulatory action in 2010 in Canada, bisphenol A (BPA) has been progressively replaced by structurally related alternative chemicals. Unfortunately, many of these chemicals are data-poor, limiting toxicological risk assessment. We used high-throughput transcriptomics to evaluate potential hazards and compare potencies of BPA and 15 BPA alternative chemicals in cultured breast cancer cells. MCF-7 cells were exposed to BPA and 15 alternative chemicals (0.0005-100 µM) for 48 h. TempO-Seq (BioSpyder Inc) was used to examine global transcriptomic changes and estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-associated transcriptional changes. Benchmark concentration (BMC) analysis was conducted to identify 2 global transcriptomic points of departure: (1) the lowest pathway median gene BMC and (2) the 25th lowest rank-ordered gene BMC. ERα activation was evaluated using a published transcriptomic biomarker and an ERα-specific transcriptomic point of departure was derived. Genes fitting BMC models were subjected to upstream regulator and canonical pathway analysis in Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Biomarker analysis identified BPA and 8 alternative chemicals as ERα active. Global and ERα transcriptomic points of departure produced highly similar potency rankings with bisphenol AF as the most potent chemical tested, followed by BPA and bisphenol C. Further, BPA and transcriptionally active alternative chemicals enriched similar gene sets associated with increased cell division and cancer-related processes. These data provide support for future read-across applications of transcriptomic profiling for risk assessment of data-poor chemicals and suggest that several BPA alternative chemicals may cause hazards at similar concentrations to BPA.

Cyberbullying in COVID-19 Pandemic Decreases? Research of Internet Habits of Croatian Adolescents

Online contacts and other activities on the Internet came into focus given the increased use during the COVID-19 pandemic. The online environment is a setting for problematic Internet use, including cyberbullying, and research so far shows that inclusion in cyberbullying depends on the amount of screen time. Increases in screen time during the pandemic could affect the growth of the prevalence rates of children’s involvement in cyberbullying. The aim of this paper is to compare the Internet habits, cyberbullying and parental role in children’s online activities before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the use of the Internet increased due to online classes and implemented measures to prevent the spread of the infection. The Institute of Public Health of Split-Dalmatia County conducted a quantitative online survey of Internet habits and problematic Internet use in two waves in 2017 and 2020 with adolescents from 12–18 (N2017 = 536; N2020 = 284). Research included adherence to ethical standards of research with children. An online activity questionnaire for children, a questionnaire of parental behaviors and the European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire—ECIPQ were used. The results of the research point out that cyberbullying rates in the pandemic decreased. The results show that the cumulative effect of parental monitoring is medium with approximately 5% of explained variance for experiencing and 6% for committing violence. The similar set of predictors is statistically significant in both regressions. Parental actions of monitoring applications, informing children and monitoring search history are identified as protective factors for committing or experiencing cyber violence. These findings are important for understanding the effect of the general digitization of society, which leads to an extensive increase in the use of online content and various digital tools, and the role of the parents, especially as protective potential for cyberbullying among children.

Are floral traits and their phenotypic variability related to plants with generalized or specialized pollination systems? A community perspective

Flower traits under selection by specialized pollinators may experience a decrease in their phenotypic variation. Another viewpoint suggests that flower traits of plants under selection by generalized pollinators could display comparable variability to that of plant species with a specialized pollination system. We evaluated the following alternatives: (a) species with specialized pollination system (zygomorphic flowers, long corolla tube and higher amount of nectar, and visited by only one group of pollinators) will present higher natural fruit set and less floral phenotypic variation in comparison with species with generalized pollination system (actinomorphic flowers with short corolla tube and comparatively lower amount of nectar, and visited by a wide spectrum of taxonomically diverse pollinator species); (b) alternatively, if species with generalized pollination system show similar reproductive success to that of with specialized pollination system, comparable phenotypic variation in flower traits will be expected between them. Natural fruit set, corolla tube length, amount of nectar per flower, nectar sugar composition, and variability of these floral traits were measured in 43 biotically-pollinated species growing in a Chaco Serrano community from central Argentina. Plants were classified as specialists or generalists based on focal observations made to record their pollinators. Correlations and General Linear Models were used to compare fruit set and flower traits between plant species with generalized and specialized pollination system. Plants with specialized pollination system display flowers with higher amounts of nectar than plants with generalized pollination system. Nevertheless, species with generalized and specialized pollination system showed similar fruit set and floral phenotypic variation (except for the percentage of sucrose). The trends observed in species with generalized or specialized pollination systems from the Chaco forests suggest that pollinators could be an effective evolutionary force in selecting primary and secondary floral traits for both types of plant species.

An intercultural approach to an embedded “bad news” genre

Acknowledging the limitations of your own research is rhetorically challenging, and especially for those aiming to publish in a second language. This paper hypothesizes that a part of the challenge may be due to cross-cultural differences in the way these potentially self-damaging statements are rhetorically managed in RA discussion and/or other closing (DC) sections. Adopting an intercultural rhetoric approach, I drew two sub-samples of Limitations from two comparable corpora of social science RA DC sections across English and Spanish. I compared the rhetorical purposes of their surrounding segments from the lens of the “bad news” genre. The results showed that most authors prepared the reader for the Limitations, although the preferred stylistic strategies for doing so varied across the two publication contexts. Authors tended to exploit a similar set of rhetorical purposes, but in different ways to persuade readers about the acceptability of their study limitations. Specifically, in English it was conventional to “sandwich” the Limitations with good news, including implications for future practice, to mitigate their possible negative effect. In contrast, in Spanish it was conventional to surround them with explications to display the authors’ expertise, while the only salient mitigating strategy was their attribution to an external factor. These different rhetorical practices may be understood by divergent cultural (writing) styles, as well as differing authors’ understandings of impression management that were uncovered through email interviews. I advocate for a critical intercultural awareness approach to training scholars in writing skills necessary for research publication purposes in different languages.

Red Schools, Blue Schools? Republican and Democratic Student Groups at U.S. Colleges and Universities1

How prevalent are Republican and Democratic student groups, and why are some schools home to Republican and Democratic student groups while other schools are not? Some commentators and scholars suggest that Republican student groups may be less prevalent than Democratic student groups and, when present, will likely be found at “red schools” (rather than “blue schools”) in Republican‐leaning areas of the country. However, other scholars argue that both Republican and Democratic student groups should be similar in their overall prevalence and located at a similar set of “engaged schools” (as opposed to “unengaged schools”). Analyzing our original database of Republican and Democratic student organizations across 1,953 four‐year, not‐for‐profit U.S. colleges and universities, we first show that Republican student groups are nearly as common as Democratic student groups: Republican student groups can be found at 39% of campuses, while Democratic student groups are present on 40% of campuses. Employing binary and multinomial logistic regression analyses, we then show that Republican and Democratic student groups tend to be located at the same types of schools, that is, larger, wealthier, public schools that offer political science majors. Our article holds significant implications for theorizing on student organization presence more generally.

EPIZOOTOLOGICAL MONITORING OF DIROFILARIАSIS IN DOGS IN SUMY REGION

The article presents data on the study of the spread of dirofilariаsis invasion of dogs in the conditions of the Sumy region. Dirofilariasis is a common helminthic disease of dogs, regardless of their breed, age and economic purpose. Dirofilariasis does not lose its relevance in modern dog habitats. The purpose of our work was to study the distribution, seasonal and age dynamics of dirofilariasis in dogs, taking into account their habitat and economic purpose. The studies was carried out to achieve the goal, of hemolarvoscopic and coproovoscopic. Rapid testing was also used to make a diagnosis. According to the results of the studies, it was found that in 57,6% of cases, dirofilaria monoinvasion was diagnosed, while an associated course of dirofilariasis was recorded in 42,4% of the examined dogs. Dirofilariasis was more often registered in association with toxocariasis, trichuriasis and dipilidiosis.
 The associated course of dirofilariasis was more often recorded in stray animals. In the course of the studies, the breed susceptibility of dogs to helminthiasis has not been established. Dirofilariasis was registered in dogs of different breeds. At the same time, a clear seasonal dynamics of the intensity of dirofilariasis invasion in dogs has been proven. The maximum extensiveness of invasion was established in June (38,7%) and October (42,4%). There was a progressive suppression and deterioration of appetite when detecting microdirofilaria in the blood of dogs. Animals reacted weakly to external stimuli, and in some individuals, the appearance of nervous phenomena was noted. In the course of the studies, a clear relationship was established between the age of infested animals and the extent of invasion. In older animals, the prevalence of invasion increased regardless of breed and sex. In dogs under the age of 1 year, the EI did not exceed 1,6 %, at the age of 1–3 years – 23,5 %, at the age of 3–6 years – 29,4 %. During 2021, the invasion rate of dogs was 0,7 %. The situation was similar in 2020. According to the statistical reporting of the laboratory for 2019–2018, it was established that there were no positive results of microscopic and scatological examinations of samples for dirofilariasis that came from dogs. The proportion of such animals for conducting a similar set of studies was 1,4% in 2017. Thus, the data obtained by us indicate the importance of further study of the spread of dirofilariasis in the dog population of the Sumy region.

A Pre-Generation of Emergency Reference Plan Model of Public Health Emergencies with Case-Based Reasoning.

In the early 21st century, the coronavirus alone has ravaged the world three times. Public health emergencies have caused a tremendous negative impact on public health, daily life, and global economic development, for having the characteristics of complexity and great harm. To tackle these problems, a pre-generation of emergency reference plan model of public health emergencies is proposed to better deal with the outbreak and spread of public health events. The method is divided into three stages. First, the modified SEIR model is used to predict the attribute values of the target case. Then, the similar case sets are extracted and filtered by calculating the similarity through the cross-efficiency evaluation method with the parallel system. Finally, the multi-stage emergency effect evaluation model is conducted so that the emergency plan with the best response effect at this stage can be made for reference. We collected 25 typical events of COVID-19 that occurred in 11 cities in China as historical case bases and target cases, respectively. The result of the experiment verified the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. This paper presents a new perspective on making a public health emergency plan, which could improve the decision-making accuracy and efficiency, maximize the emergency effect and save precious time for emergency response. This model can provide rapid decision supports for decision-making for public services such as government departments, centers for disease control, medical emergency centers and transport authorities, etc.

Developing a Robotic Surgery Curriculum: Selection of Virtual Reality Drills for Content Alignment

IntroductionDespite the importance of simulation-based training for robotic surgery, there is no consensus about its training curricula. Recently, a virtual reality (VR) platform (SimNow, Intuitive, Inc) was introduced with 33 VR drills but without evidence of their validity. As part of our creating a new robotic VR curriculum, we assessed the drills’ validity through content mapping and the alignment between learning goals and drill content. MethodsThree robotically trained surgeons content-mapped all 33 drills for how well the drills incorporated 15 surgery skills and also rated the drills’ difficulty, usefulness, relevance, and uniqueness. Drills were added to the new curriculum based on consensus about ratings and historic learner data. The drills were grouped according to similar skill sets and arranged in order of complexity. ResultsThe 33 drills were judged to have 12/15 surgery skills as primary goals and 13/15 as secondary goals. Twenty of the 33 drills were selected for inclusion in the new curriculum; these had 11/15 skills as primary goals and 11/15 as secondary goals. However, skills regarding energy sources, atraumatic handling, blunt dissection, fine dissection, and running suturing were poorly represented in the drills. Three previously validated inanimate drills were added to the curriculum to address lacking skill domains. ConclusionsWe identified 20 of the 33 SimNow drills as a foundation for a robotic surgery curriculum based on content-oriented evidence. We added 3 other drills to address identified gaps in drill content.

Два ранних фильма Д.У. Гриффита

In his early films, created during his collaboration with the Biograph company, D.W. Griffith often varied the same plot moves and schemes, while achieving great variety. Thus, two films of 1912, The Girl and Her Trust and The Lesser Evil, contain a very similar set of functions and devices, the distribution of which, however, leads to different semantic effects. Some of them — pointing to the possibility of a dual reading of the motivation of the characters and their psychology — unexpectedly anticipate the further development of cinema. As Roger Caillois writes in his notes on fantastic art, a necessary condition for the fantastic (or miraculous) is its involuntary nature, which often arises due to the contradiction between the openly formulated meaning and the elements that are not integrated into it. This observation can be extended to the whole realm of the aesthetic. At a time when cinema is taking its first steps and discovering elementary means of expression, Griffith’s psychological nuances seem redundant, premature, and therefore miraculous.

GenSync: A New Framework for Benchmarking and Optimizing Reconciliation of Data

In the set reconciliation problem, remote parties seek to reconcile similar sets of data according to an efficiency objective, such as minimizing communication or computation. Though investigated for many individual distributed applications, this problem still lacks a holistic treatment, and this is the aim of this work. Specifically, we design and analyze GenSync, a unified set reconciliation framework that incorporates several state-of-the-art set reconciliation protocols with an integrated testbed. We compare and analyze the various protocols and offer general guidelines for selecting a good protocol for a given application. Through extensive experiments, we demonstrate that the optimal choice of protocol is highly sensitive to several parameters, including network properties (e.g., bandwidth and latency) and computing power. Notably, none of our framework’s protocols are universally dominant under diverse conditions, and a poor protocol choice may lead to a 5x hit in performance. To demonstrate our framework, we measure the effects of protocol choice in reconciling memory pools of adjacent Bitcoin nodes.

PIB‐PET perfusion and FDG‐PET are highly correlated and similarly associated with cognitive performance

AbstractBackgroundFluorodeoxyglucose PET is a useful measure of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease and aging. Because glucose metabolism and cerebral blood flow are coupled, PET measures of perfusion also detect neurodegeneration. Dynamic PET data obtained immediately following injection of highly extracted tracers can estimate relative perfusion (R1). We performed this study to examine R1 in relation to FDG PET for detection of AD and relationships to cognition.MethodDynamic Pittsburgh compound B (PIB) PET (0‐90 min) and FDG‐PET (30‐60 min) scans were collected in cognitively normal (CN) participants (N=109, mean age 76.2±6.4 years) and Aβ‐positive patients with MCI or dementia (N=85, mean age 65.1±9.6 years). The Simplified Reference Tissue Model 2 estimated R1 and PIB distribution volume ratios, the latter used to dichotomize CN participants by amyloid status (68 Aβ‐, 41 Aβ+). We used a standard “metaROI” composed of FreeSurfer (Desikan‐Killiany) ‐based ROIs in temporal, parietal and cingulate cortex to quantify R1 and FDG in all participants to compare R1 and FDG in the detection of between‐group differences with a one‐way ANOVA, and classification of participants with logistic regression models. Relationships between R1 or FDG and dementia severity, measured as the CDR sum of boxes, were examined in clinically impaired patients in multiple FreeSurfer‐based regions of interest.ResultR1 and FDG were both significantly lower in patients than in CN groups (R1: F(2,191) = 70.5, p<0.000001; FDG: F(2,191) = 87.9, p<0.000001), which did not differ significantly (Figure 1). FDG and R1 were both able to distinguish between patients and CN participants similarly, with sensitivity and specificity ranging from 80‐86% (Figure 2). R1 and FDG were associated with CDR sum of boxes in a similar set of frontal, temporal, and parietal regions, although FDG associations were stronger and more extensive (Figure 3).ConclusionR1 and FDG perform similarly in differentiating dementia patients and controls. Relationships between FDG/R1 and cognitive performance are similar, although FDG shows more extensive associations. R1 measures obtained from dynamic PIB‐PET scans are useful indicators of neurodegeneration which can substitute for FDG in many situations.

The Quality of Sequence Data Affects Biodiversity and Conservation Perspectives in the Neotropical Damselfly Megaloprepus caerulatus

Ideally, the footprint of the evolutionary history of a species is drawn from integrative studies including quantitative and qualitative taxonomy, biogeography, ecology, and molecular genetics. In today’s research, species delimitations and identification of conservation units is often accompanied by a set of—at minimum—two sequence markers appropriate for the systematic level under investigation. Two such studies re-evaluated the species status in the world’s largest Odonata, the Neotropical damselfly Megaloprepus caerulatus. The species status of the genus Megaloprepus has long been debated. Despite applying a highly similar set of sequence markers, the two studies reached different conclusions concerning species status and population genetic relationships. In this study, we took the unique opportunity to compare the two datasets and analyzed the reasons for those incongruences. The two DNA sequence markers used (16S rDNA and CO1) were re-aligned using a strict conservative approach and the analyses used in both studies were repeated. Going step by step back to the first line of data handling, we show that a high number of unresolved characters in the sequence alignments as well as internal gaps are responsible for the different outcomes in terms of species delimitations and population genetic relationships. Overall, this study shows that high quality raw sequence data are an indispensable requirement, not only in odonate research.

PIB‐PET perfusion and FDG‐PET are highly correlated and similarly associated with cognitive performance

AbstractBackgroundFluorodeoxyglucose PET is a useful measure of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease and aging. Because glucose metabolism and cerebral blood flow are coupled, PET measures of perfusion also detect neurodegeneration. Dynamic PET data obtained immediately following injection of highly extracted tracers can estimate relative perfusion (R1). We performed this study to examine R1 in relation to FDG PET for detection of AD and relationships to cognition.MethodDynamic Pittsburgh compound B (PIB) PET (0‐90 min) and FDG‐PET (30‐60 min) scans were collected in cognitively normal (CN) participants (N=109, mean age 76.2±6.4 years) and Aβ‐positive patients with MCI or dementia (N=85, mean age 65.1±9.6 years). The Simplified Reference Tissue Model 2 estimated R1 and PIB distribution volume ratios, the latter used to dichotomize CN participants by amyloid status (68 Aβ‐, 41 Aβ+). We used a standard “metaROI” composed of FreeSurfer (Desikan‐Killiany) ‐based ROIs in temporal, parietal and cingulate cortex to quantify R1 and FDG in all participants to compare R1 and FDG in the detection of between‐group differences with a one‐way ANOVA, and classification of participants with logistic regression models. Relationships between R1 or FDG and dementia severity, measured as the CDR sum of boxes, were examined in clinically impaired patients in multiple FreeSurfer‐based regions of interest.ResultR1 and FDG were both significantly lower in patients than in CN groups (R1: F(2,191) = 70.5, p<0.000001; FDG: F(2,191) = 87.9, p<0.000001), which did not differ significantly (Figure 1). FDG and R1 were both able to distinguish between patients and CN participants similarly, with sensitivity and specificity ranging from 80‐86% (Figure 2). R1 and FDG were associated with CDR sum of boxes in a similar set of frontal, temporal, and parietal regions, although FDG associations were stronger and more extensive (Figure 3).ConclusionR1 and FDG perform similarly in differentiating dementia patients and controls. Relationships between FDG/R1 and cognitive performance are similar, although FDG shows more extensive associations. R1 measures obtained from dynamic PIB‐PET scans are useful indicators of neurodegeneration which can substitute for FDG in many situations.

Co-depletion of NIPBL and WAPL balance cohesin activity to correct gene misexpression.

The relationship between cohesin-mediated chromatin looping and gene expression remains unclear. NIPBL and WAPL are two opposing regulators of cohesin activity; depletion of either is associated with changes in both chromatin folding and transcription across a wide range of cell types. However, a direct comparison of their individual and combined effects on gene expression in the same cell type is lacking. We find that NIPBL or WAPL depletion in human HCT116 cells each alter the expression of ~2,000 genes, with only ~30% of the genes shared between the conditions. We find that clusters of differentially expressed genes within the same topologically associated domain (TAD) show coordinated misexpression, suggesting some genomic domains are especially sensitive to both more or less cohesin. Finally, co-depletion of NIPBL and WAPL restores the majority of gene misexpression as compared to either knockdown alone. A similar set of NIPBL-sensitive genes are rescued following CTCF co-depletion. Together, this indicates that altered transcription due to reduced cohesin activity can be functionally offset by removal of either its negative regulator (WAPL) or the physical barriers (CTCF) that restrict loop-extrusion events.

Gender-based time discrepancy in diagnosis of coronary artery disease based on data analytics of electronic medical records.

Women continue to have worse Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) outcomes than men. The causes of this discrepancy have yet to be fully elucidated. The main objective of this study is to detect gender discrepancies in the diagnosis and treatment of CAD. We used data analytics to risk stratify ~32,000 patients with CAD of the total 960,129 patients treated at the UCSF Medical Center over an 8 year period. We implemented a multidimensional data analytics framework to trace patients from admission through treatment to create a path of events. Events are any medications or noninvasive and invasive procedures. The time between events for a similar set of paths was calculated. Then, the average waiting time for each step of the treatment was calculated. Finally, we applied statistical analysis to determine differences in time between diagnosis and treatment steps for men and women. There is a significant time difference from the first time of admission to diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization between genders (p-value = 0.000119), while the time difference from diagnostic Cardiac Catheterization to CABG is not statistically significant. Women had a significantly longer interval between their first physician encounter indicative of CAD and their first diagnostic cardiac catheterization compared to men. Avoiding this delay in diagnosis may provide more timely treatment and a better outcome for patients at risk. Finally, we conclude by discussing the impact of the study on improving patient care with early detection and managing individual patients at risk of rapid progression of CAD.

Impacts of COVID-19 on Patients With Common Surgical Emergencies at the King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global disaster with millions of infections and deaths. Healthcare systems and services were significantly affected, necessitating adjustments. These included postponement of scheduled appointments and elective surgeries. During the pandemic, there was an increase in the number of acute appendicitis, gallstones, and hernia with a significant impact on the signs and symptoms of presenting problems due to prehospital delay. This study aims to measure the impacts of COVID-19 on patients with common surgical emergencies in King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia. This is a single-center retrospective study conducted at King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia. We reviewed all medical records of patients diagnosed with common surgical emergencies (acute appendicitis, gallstones, and hernia) during a selected time of COVID-19 lockdown and compared it with a similar set period before the crisisas a control sample. All medical records were reviewed to find out the overall number of admissions, frequency of emergency department (ED) visits, duration of illness, picture of clinical presentation, intraoperative findings, course and duration of admission, and final pathology if any. A total of 322 patients were included in the study. Of these, 119 (37%) patients underwent surgery before COVID-19while 203 (63%) patients underwent surgery during the pandemic. The diagnosis of acute appendicitis was 63.9% and 47.7%, hernia 27.7% and 34.6%, and gallstone was 8.4% and 17.7% for control and pandemic periods, respectively. The duration varied from 10 hours to two days and four hours to one month, seven hours to one day to eight hours to six months, and two hours to one day to seven hours to one and half a month for acute appendicitis, hernia, and gallstone in control and pandemic period, respectively. The mean length of stay for acute appendicitis was reduced from two days during the control period to one day during the pandemic period, from four to three days for gallstone, and for hernia, it remained three days for both the control and pandemic periods, respectively. Regarding the course of admission for acute appendicitis, the uneventful cases were reducedwhile an increase in uneventful cases for both hernia and gallstone was observed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a noticeable reduction in hospital visits. We observed an increase in the number of one-time visits and a reduction of three, four, and seven-time visits, which was attributed to the fact that patients have been reported to visit the hospital after a long time from the onset of symptoms with a higher chance of complication and subsequent surgeries. The number of acute appendicitis cases was reduced while the cases of hernia and gallstones increased significantly. The minimum period for the duration of acute illness for appendicitis was reduced in the pandemic period, while the minimum period for both gallstone and hernia was increasedas both conditions could requireconservative management. The mean length of hospital stay was reduced during the pandemic period, mainly due to the early discharge implementedin COVID-19 protocols to decrease the risk of infection. The severity of symptoms was increased due to the cancellation and delaying of surgeries.